Michelle Kwan

“I tell aspiring young skaters to dream big, work hard, have fun, and follow their passion. It's simple to say never give up, but learn from your mistakes to keep growing.”

“As I've gotten older and grown more independent, I think for myself, and that's how it should be.”

“Even at a young age, when you start to do well, it's tough because it's lonely on top, and I wasn't the most popular.”

“I want to see how far I can train. I have to see how far my body will go.”

“When I was younger, I always dreamed of being a legend, to be remembered in figure skating.”

“As an athlete, that's something I always take with me. You fall every day, whether it's in a job, or you miss something else, but you learn how to do it better next time. You learn it in sports. That's a life lesson.”

“I always thought after 2002 that I'd hang up my skates and turn professional and just go on tour and do shows. But I don't know when it is enough. I mean, I still enjoy it. I'm the luckiest girl alive that I get to perform in front of thousands of people, do what I love doing.”

“If you have nothing in life but a good friend, you're rich.”

“I had dreamed of being at the Olympics since I was 7 years old.”

“Girls, in particular, benefit from sports.”

“There's a lot of emotions that always come out after a skate of a lifetime. I always start crying because there is so much buildup to that competition.”

“Sometimes my body is aching, but I always think, 'Why am I in this? Why do I love it so much?' That's what makes me persevere, that's what makes me keep on going.”

“Maybe I didn't get new skates, but I got used skates. I made it to the national championships in used skates that were custom-made for another girl. I still have those skates. Underneath the arch, there was a name crossed out and my dad had 'Michelle Kwan' written in. Granted, they were a little big, but it worked.”

“What I love the most is getting on the ice and just popping in a fabulous CD and skating - all by myself, the rink completely empty, just me and the music.”

“I actually prefer soothing music - and maybe that's the skater in me.”

“To represent your country is an honor and a great experience.”

“Because I'm pushing my body so hard already, the last thing I want to do is have music that's really too strong, in my head.”

“The biggest lessons I learned were probably the times where I had the biggest setbacks and the biggest challenges - when I had the biggest jumps forward and lessons learned.”

“If you ask another competitor, they may tell you they felt very competitive towards me. But I can tell you that my biggest competition was myself. There's only so much you can do, right? There is only so much energy that one has. My focus was on how do I get the best out of myself.”

“In figure skating, you have four minutes to do your best. It's your time; you do your best.”